Abundant adoption of ADAPTive technology

USA:

When Michael Garrison Associates (MGA) was contracted to upgrade the existing loudspeaker system for Abundant Church’s 3,600-seat main auditorium at its East Campus (AC-East) in El Paso, Texas, president and owner Michael Garrison had no hesitation turning to EAW and its ADAPTive PA system.

MGA and Abundant Church collaborated between 2004 and 2007 to design and install the original loudspeaker system for what was the new AC-East facility. Ten years later, MGA was on the team to develop plans for a new satellite campus including an 1,800-seat main auditorium on the west side of El Paso (AC-West). Having expressed a desire to “raise the bar” for this project, the Abundant Church leadership was presented with MGA’s proposal to adopt EAW’s ADAPTive technology as a true L-C-R system, where each of the three arrays individually cover the entire fan-shaped seating area.

“The unique ability of ADAPTive to be hung straight to smoothly cover wide seating areas, plus its stellar sonic performance, made it a no brainer for the church to choose this product,” explained Garrison. Commissioned in May 2017, the AC-West design combines 26 Anna main modules supplemented by eight Otto subwoofers.

“It was beyond anything that I’d previously heard in a live setting,” reviewed Abundant Church’s audio director, John Buntyn. “The system’s ability to respond to minute adjustments makes it a joy to mix on. The mix from front of house translates throughout the room for the congregation’s listening experience.”

As a result, Abundant Church requested MGA to design a replacement EAW ADAPTive system for its 14-year-old AC-East system. This larger room required the coverage and power provided by EAW’s ADAPTive flagship box, Anya. “The ideal lateral location and elevation for the outside L-R Anya arrays would interfere with the existing video projector paths to the projection screens,” added Garrison. “We designed an ‘Initial Installation’ with the left and right arrays 1.3m closer to the room’s centre line and all three main arrays 0.3m higher than they will be in the ‘Future Installation’, once the projection screens are replaced with LED video panels.”

Installed in February 2021, the new design consists of a centre main array with nine Anya cabinets and eight Otto subs, together with 10 Anya in each left and right array. MGA worked with the project structural engineer to accommodate an easy transition to the future deployment. “The unique steerability afforded by the ADAPTive technology makes it feasible to manage coverage to the seating area for the initial loudspeaker locations,” continued Garrison. “Spatial imaging and sonic quality are great but will be even better when the loudspeakers get moved to their intended ‘future’ placement.”

With EAW’s technology, products and support services operating across the different venues, Abundant Church recently selected another EAW ADAPTive system for its downtown theatre project. The smaller room will adopt the latest AC6 speakers with Otto subs. Having partnered with faith-based organisations for over 40 years, MGA seemingly will continue to place faith in EAW technologies.